The Dead House
by HitTheKillSwitch
Summary: Maka is exhausted, so she takes one of Soul's sleeping pills to get rid of her insomnia. However, when she wakes up, she doesn't know where she is. The streets are big, the houses strange, and it's... Halloween?


**WARNING: LANGUAGE NOT FOR KIDS!**

_Insomnia's a bitch, _Maka thought with an angry frown as she tossed and turned hopelessly under her covers. Although the young Meister could whip a Kishin's ass any day, or flip around like an acrobat with no problem, the struggle to feel comfortable in her own bed seemed like an impossible feat. Her feet had tangled themselves into the sheets, making it hard to move, and her pillows might as well have been rocks. _The feathers must be clumped up,_ she realized, punching the pillow once or twice. It didn't help much. With a sigh, the blonde girl covered her itchy eyes. When were those damn sleep aids going to start working?

Truthfully, it hadn't been the first time she couldn't sleep. Restlessness plagued her often before bedtime, making sleep quite a challenge. Even worse was when she could sleep, but the nightmares were bad. Horrid images haunted her, all night long- pictures of death and gore, her friends lost to her forever, Soul's lifeless body…

Maka involuntarily shuddered at the last one. She'd had it a couple weeks ago, and it had been a particularly bad nightmare. However, she would usually just get up and go read a book, or finish her homework instead of fighting the whims of her subconscious. Tonight, though, Maka was tired. Very tired. She had spent a majority of the day fighting off a particularly nasty Kishin, and dammit, she wanted sleep. The stupid thing had thrown her into a wall during the fight, which had scraped up her back pretty badly. The persistent stinging of her back, the sick swirling sensation in her stomach from the pain medication, and exhausted ache in her bones were all too overwhelming. Tonight was _not_ a night for insomnia, she had decided.

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

Groaning, she turned onto her back, which was her normal sleeping position. Her face contorted in pain as her scraped-up back connected with her night shirt and the sheets, the raw skin burning. She stared at the wall across from her bed, counting shadows the same way most counted sheep. _Please go to bed…_ she pleaded with herself. Thankfully, as the thought floated across her mind, her vision started getting fuzzy, as though her mind had finally started listening to her.

Earlier that night, she had gotten up and swallowed a few sleeping pills, so she presumed they were finally starting to take effect. They weren't really her pills, though. They were Soul's. Her best friend and Weapon had the same problem with sleeping that she did, only on a much greater scale. Maka couldn't even count the times she had gotten up early in the morning to check on him, only to find him sitting in the middle of his room, surrounded by sheet music, some sort of punk rock song blasting through his headphones loud enough that she could hear it at the door. He'd look up at her with tired eyes, offering only a shrug as an explanation. How could that be healthy? Eventually, she managed to drag him to Dr. Stein to ask for a prescription. So, yes, they were Soul's, but Maka couldn't help but sneak some as well when things got tiring.

Her head started sinking a little farther into her pillow. _About time, _she sighed, curling up under her blankets. Her pillow didn't feel this soft before, did it?

Maka felt a tiny smile cross her lips as her eyes drifted close, finally succumbing to sleep. Haa… how peaceful.

How dark.

How calming…

…Or not.

Maka's eyes snapped open, but her hands flew up to cover them, the sudden shock of light and color hurting her retinas. Her sneakers slammed against the blacktop, causing her knees to crumple and connect with the warm cement.

"Ah…" She winced as her skin scraped the rough ground. Great. Now her back injury had a younger brother. Muttering to herself, she fell back on her butt to expose her knees to the cool night air. Ouch, did it sting! Pulling back the fabric of what appeared to be leggings- was she wearing those before?- she frowned at the sight of blood starting to drip down her skin. Not as bad as her back bled when she injured it earlier, though… _wait…. what?_ A sudden realization made her freeze. For some odd reason, her back didn't seem to hurt as much as it did when she fell asleep. Slowly, Maka brought her hands down from her face so she could reach behind her. Lifting her shirt, she felt the skin beneath the thin cotton… the _smooth, uninjured _skin. Not that she was complaining, but where was her scrape? Breathing heavily, her head swiveled back and forth, trying to take in the world around her. Holy crap, where was she?

"What…?" She began, confused. Just a moment ago she had been asleep in her bedroom… where the hell was she now? Did she sleep walk somewhere? Where was this?

Wherever she was, it was… different. The road, which she was sitting on, was wide. Double, close to triple what a normal neighborhood street would be, with cracks in the pure-black blacktop and no traffic lines. Lining either side of the ridiculously wide road were happy, quirky little houses, ranging in size from ranches to a few gothic-themed mini-mansions. Every house was different in its own special way, though styled in an odd, cartoonish fashion, making for quite the diverse sub division. The only thing the houses had in common, really, were the Halloween decorations.

Maka wasn't quite sure why there were Halloween decorations everywhere. Halloween had passed quite some time ago- had these people just forgotten to take down the lights and stuff? If it was just one or two houses here and there, she could understand. After all, Death City _was _pretty big on Halloween. But an entire neighborhood? Did she sleepwalk from her apartment into some sort of Halloween cult? She'd never heard of one of those before. How far away did she sleepwalk?

Not far, apparently. Looking up, she could still see the Black Paper Moon, blood pouring out of its laughing mouth like it would from a fatal wound. Maka swallowed. The Moon was something that only Meisters and Weapons could see, starting at a certain age. It had scared the shit out of her eleven-year-old self when she had looked out the window to see that monstrosity instead of the pure white orb she was used to. From her Mama, she learned that the Moon bled as a warning, though most people thought that it was just a myth. Maka didn't believe in it, either, but the sight of it was always enough to make her cringe.

"Maka! Hey, are you okay?" A gravelly voice came from behind her. The deep, familiar sound was like a shot of reassurance, straight into her heart. Whipping around to see a shock of white hair coming towards her, she grinned.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, relieved to have found her best friend in such an unfamiliar environment. Jogging over, he crouched down in order to examine her bloody knees.

"Did you fall or something? Stupid, there's nothing around for you to trip over, except your own feet." Soul said, sounding annoyed, but still teasing. Maka brushed his sort-of-concern off impatiently, wanting to get to the bottom of her mysterious surroundings.

"What's going on? Where are we?" Maka demanded of her partner. He just looked at her, an eyebrow raised, his expression turning a bit concerned.

"…Did you hit your head when you fell?" Soul asked her carefully, grabbing her face so he could check for dilated pupils. "Should I get Kid? Do you remember who Kid is?"

"Of course I remember who Kid is!" She huffed indignantly. Hit her head? What? She just wanted answers! There was no problem with that. It wasn't like she had a concussion or anything…

…but then again, it was possible, since it seemed she was hallucinating. Actually, no, it was certain that she was hallucinating, because there was no way in hell that Soul Eater Evans, the self-proclaimed coolest guy at the DWMA, had come running to her rescue dressed like a _vampire._ Absolutely not. The idea was enough to make her laugh- yet here he was. His already-sharp teeth and lips were coated with what appeared to be bright red Kool-Aid, which dripped down his chin and stained his skin. His hair was gelled back in classic Dracula style, which was completed by the cheesy black cape and dress shirt he wore. Black slacks and a black tie made up the rest of his outfit. Maka had to admit, though; Soul did look good in dress clothes. If she was hallucinating, let's just say she was glad it was of this.

"What… why…. what on _earth _are you wearing…?" She managed, tugging on the end of Soul's cape. Now he looked really worried.

"A vampire costume?" He said slowly, though it came out as more of a question than a statement. "You know, for the same reason you're dressed up as a witch?"

Maka looked down in confusion, and to her surprise, Soul was right. For some reason, she was dressed as a witch. Not the ones they were used to seeing and fighting on a regular basis, but the fakes ones that were shown on T.V, like the bad witch from the Wizard of Oz. A black "dress" with big, fake, jagged edges for a hem covered her purple and black striped leggings (now complete with bloody holes over the knees due to her fall), and there was even a pointy black witch hat covering her usual pigtails. Her broom lay on the ground a few feet away, next to some sort of lumpy sack, both of which she had probably dropped when she fell.

"Huh?"

"Come on, Maka, you're starting to scare me." Soul said, making her look at him again. "It's Halloween, remember? You made me put on this stupid costume and go Trick or Treating with Black Star and the gang. Do you seriously not remember anything? Fuck, Maka, you remember me, right?"

Maka was saved from answering by the sound of approaching footsteps. Breaking her head free of Soul's grasp, she looked over to see Tsubaki running over, followed by Kid, the Thompson sisters, and Black Star. They were all here? What was going on?

"Maka, are you okay?" Tsubaki (who, fittingly enough, was donning a nurse's costume) asked, dropping to the ground next to her. Black Star, on the other hand, went straight for the lumpy sack that had fallen by her fake broomstick.

"Ohhh, you dropped your candy!" The idiot said sympathetically, picking it up and looking inside. "No worries, though. It looks like everything is in order." Maka, despite her confusion, couldn't help but roll her eyes as he grabbed a particularly colorful piece from her bag and popped it in his mouth. He whipped off the hat of his pirate costume, grinning widely as he munched on the sugary substance.

"You're an idiot." Liz confirmed, looking uncomfortable with her surroundings. She crossed her arms protectively in front of her, blocking most of her maid costume from view. "You know what, I don't even care. Let's just hurry up, all right? I hate Halloween." She said with a shudder, throwing a hateful glance at a fake ghost decoration hanging from a nearby tree.

"Guys! Now's not the time, you know, considering _Maka has fucking amnesia_!" Soul snapped, making Liz blink in surprise.

"She has what now?" She and Kid asked in worried unison.

"Nothing." Maka insisted, giving Soul what she hoped was a pointed but subtle glance. He made a face, looking confused and a little angry, but nodded slightly. Maka breathed a quiet sigh of relief, but knew she'd hear about it later.

"What she said." Soul dismissed with a wave of his hand, standing back up. "I just wanted you to shut up, Liz."

"Oh, exc_use_ me?"

"Yeah, you heard me!"

"Bring it on, bitch!" Liz hissed, snapping her fingers.

Tsubaki stood back up, grabbing onto Maka's hand and pulling her up with her.

"Are you _sure_ you're all right? You look a bit stressed." The black haired girl noted, ignoring her fellow Weapon's fight. Maka smiled as convincingly as she could, gesturing to her knees.

"Yeah, just a little scraped up." She assured her. "Soul was just kidding. Honestly." Maka felt a bit bad lying to her friends, but she'd rather no one knew the truth until she could figure out what was happening. Having that big of a gap in her memory was a pretty big issue, but she needed to take little steps towards finding the truth. First, she would figure out where she was. She could solve this problem by herself. Soul was the exception, since he already knew. _I suppose I could use a partner in this. _Maka decided. _I'll let him in on it, and he can help me out. _

Meanwhile, Tsubaki inhaled deeply and nodded, okay with it as long as Maka was all right. Having someone injured badly on Halloween night would take all the fun out of things, after all. Patti would be so depressed if she had to stop before Trick or Treating at every house on the block. She had spent so much effort putting together a Native American girl costume, modeling it after Pocahontas, from the Disney movie. Liz had told her, in a tired, irritated way that Patti even picked out the costumes for her and Kid to wear. She was the maid, he was the butler.

"All right, keep moving!" Patti announced suddenly, getting tired of hanging around. She still wanted more candy.

"Fine, fine." Kid muttered, checking his watch impatiently. Truth be told, he was getting rather tired. He was used to going to bed at eight- eleven was a bit late for him. "First, though, shouldn't we find Black Star? He ran off sometime in the middle of Soul and Liz's argument."

"What?" Tsubaki gasped, looking around, surprised that her Meister had snuck away when she hadn't noticed. Thankfully, no one actually had to go look for him.

"GUYSH!" Black Star yelled, waving his arms above his head as he ran towards the group. Everyone turned to watch as the previously MIA boy slowed to a stop, his eyes gleaming. Maka scowled when she saw her bag of candy (granted, that she never remembered collecting) still clutched tightly in his hand. It looked a lot less lumpy than she remembered.

"Guysh, div youph ear?" He huffed, voice muffled to all the candy crammed in his mouth.

"No, what happened?" Tsubaki asked him, managing to work through the gibberish. Her face showed a mixture of concern and relief. _I'll never know how she does it… _Maka thought to herself with disbelief as she watched Tsubaki rub the back of her out-of-breath Meister. "But swallow the candy first- it's too hard to understand you." Black Star nodded vigorously, making a big show of swallowing the colorful goop in his mouth.

"Did you hear?" He repeated excitedly. "There's a serial killer on the loose!"

Maka felt the warm autumn air instantly drop several degrees colder. There was a serial killer on the loose? A pre-kishin? Her hand shot out instinctively for Soul's, grabbing it and giving it a quick squeeze. He glanced over at her, a silent understanding between them. If it was a Kishin and it went after them, they could handle it. Turning he gaze away, she wasn't surprised to see that Liz had turned as white as a sheet.

"A… w-w-what…?" The older girl stuttered.

"A serial killer!" Black Star yelled. "And we're going to go after him! It's Halloween, right? So why not take the fear to the next level? Apparently, the guy's wearing one of those bird-mask things…"

"A plague doctor mask?" Maka interjected, remembering how doctors used to wear masks with a curved beak when treating plague victims, so they couldn't get sick, too. She had read that last week in a book Dr. Stein lent to her. Black Star blinked, his expression going blank for a second before switching back to excited.

"Uh, Sure. Back to the point- let's hunt him down! It's not like that sonuvabitch can touch me, anyways. I'm a _God_, remember? I can protect you guys if need be, am I right? So, who's up for catching the killer?" He asked, raising his hand confidently.

"Hell no! Absolutely not! Who in their right mind would go after a s-serial killer?!" Liz panicked, grabbing onto Kid's arm with a death grip. Patti patted her arm in a way that Maka supposed was supposed to be comforting, but the grin spreading on her face contradicted it.

"Aww, come on, Liz!" Black Star whined. "Stop being such a wimp!"

"Actually, Black Star, I think I agree with Liz." Tsubaki hesitated, playing with the hem of her costume. Black Star's face might have fallen a bit, but it was hard for Maka to tell due to the fact Liz chucked one of her high heels at him. He hit the dirt, the dainty shoe flying harmlessly over his head.

"Unnecessary." Kid sighed, giving Liz a disapproving look.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm all for hunting this bitch down." Soul grinned, holding his knuckles out for a fist bump, to which Black Star eagerly complied. Kid looked back and forth between the two boys, eventually sighing with defeat.

"Then… I guess I'm in as well. As Lord Death's son, it could be considered by duty to assist in finding someone terrorizing my father's city." He admitted.

"You have to join the fist-bump-brotherhood if you want to join the killer search party." Black Star insisted. Kid glared, but complied. Patti followed suit with a customary grin.

Catching a serial killer on Halloween was dangerous. Outside of their limits. It wasn't one of their assignments- couldn't she get in trouble for doing something so reckless? What if someone got hurt again? Maka frowned. Soul could get hurt. The dark made it difficult to see, and clear vision was something beneficial to a scythe Meister like herself. _She _could get hurt. This was so not a good idea.

But what a thrill it would be! She could get that scumbag off the streets in no time, no problem. Could she pass up that opportunity? Plus, if Soul and her found it, and it turned out to be a pre-kishin, that was one more soul they could check off in Soul's (2nd) journey of becoming a Death Scythe.

"Maka, are you in?" Soul questioned. All eyes were on her now. Liz and Tsubaki had already reluctantly agreed, though they had refused the fist-bump-brotherhood and instead chose to stand nervously next to each other so Liz could complain. Soul waited for his Meister's answer, stuffing his hands into his pockets and looking at her in a way that seemed normal to most. Maka knew better- his droopy red eyes held an unusual spark of anxiety.

"I'm in." She nodded, holding out her knuckles to join the brotherhood. No way was she leaving her Weapon to fend for himself.

"Here's how it'll work." Kid began, straightening the tie of his butler costume. Taking charge and organizing was a skill he was rather good at. "We'll split into groups-"

"No!" Liz squeaked. "I think it's better to be in one, nice, _big_ group for this activity!"

"Liz, fear is irrelevant right now." Kid dismissed with a wave of his hand. "As I was saying, we'll split into groups. Meisters and their Weapons seems like they'd make up the best pairings, so that's how we'll sort it. Maka and Soul will be Group A, Black Star and Tsubaki will be Group B, and Liz, Patti and I will be Group C. That way, Liz will be in the group with the most people. Satisfied?" Liz nodded, her shoulders relaxing slightly.

"Good. To keep in contact, use your phones. Everyone has each other's number, right?" Everyone in the group nodded.

"What are our code names going to be?" Black Star interrupted, raising his hand. "I want to be Shadow God! I call it!"

"We aren't having code names."

"Wait, whaaaat?" He wailed. "Come on!"

"No. As for the places we'll search- well, that depends on where you think is best. Maka and I will use Soul Perception to try and narrow down suspects. For a starting point, Group A will search…. How about the old Ross house? I've heard that's considered a popular spot for the homeless."

"Sure. Old house no one cares about, easy targets passing through all the time… seems legit enough for a killer." Soul shrugged. Maka just nodded, trying to appear confident. In reality, though, she had no idea what the old Ross house was.

"Group B will check out the alleys on Gap Street. It's by the ghettos, so Tsubaki, try and keep Black Star from attacking everyone in sight. Only if you have proof, Black Star- no buts. The remaining group- Liz, pay attention, this involves you- will check out the woods a few blocks up. Got it?" Nods all around. "Then let's split up. Remember, guys! Call if you have any information, and ask people if they've noticed anything suspicious!"

Maka clenched her fists together with determination. All right, this was her chance. When the group split up, she'd take the opportunity to drill Soul for all the information kept in his peanut-brain (which she meant in the most endearing way), regain her memory, and if possible, catch the scumbag serial killer that they had stopped to learn nothing about. Fun. This would be a breeze.

And with that, the groups dispersed, promising to call in if they learned anything new. Soul jerked his head in the direction of what Maka supposed was the old Ross house, indicating she should follow him. His droopy eyes made a reappearance, much to her amusement. Turning on his heel, he marched away, a mysterious mess of slumped shoulders and spikey white hair. Maka started to run after him, but a sinking feeling made her freeze. Glancing over her shoulder at her remaining friends, all headed in separate directions, just made her anxiety worse. Her feet seemed rooted to the spot as she contemplated calling out to Tsubaki, or Kid or Liz just one last time before she headed off with Soul. _You'll seem like a wimp, _she warned herself. Biting her lip, she turned and followed her Weapon into the shadows.

_Dammit, he's fast, _Maka panted, hand on her pointy witch hat so it wouldn't go flying off as she jogged after Soul. In her defense, he had a head-start. A minute at the least! Thankfully, though, he noticed her absence, and slowed a little bit to let his Meister catch up.

"Geez…" She huffed, slowing to a walk. Glancing around, she tried to catalog different things as landmarks in her mind. Light post twisted into a spiral marks Greenlake Boulevard, tiny, tiny pine tree covered in orange and purple LED lights stands proudly next to the sign reading Silent Hill, black car with a huge Ghostbuster sticker on the window marks Redrun Street, etc. She figured that if she didn't know any of the streets she was on, yet she was still in Death City, she might as well learn. Really, though… when did they make a Dalton Road? Maka had originally thought she had known all of the streets in Death City, all of them learned from her missions to take down pre-kishins.

"So, what was that back there?" Soul demanded, checking behind him to double check that they were alone.

"Well…" She began, stepping in front of him to make him stop. "I don't know."

"You don't know."

"I don't know. I just sort of woke up and didn't know what was going."

"But, you're okay now?" He snorted skeptically. "It was just a temporary amnesia?"

"No!" Maka shot back, a little stung by his attitude. "Honest to god, I have no idea what's going on. One minute I'm at home, sleeping, and the next I'm in the middle of the street Trick or Treating with you guys. I thought Halloween passed _months _ago! So now there's this big freaking _gap _in my memory and I have no idea what happened since, what? Last May up until now? That just doesn't happen to people, Soul… and that's why I need you to help me figure out why it happened to me!"

Soul studied her for a minute, his face indecisive. Maka hadn't thought about this sort of outcome. What if Soul just didn't believe her? It was a rather outlandish claim, really. Missing months of memory without any prior diagnosis of mental or physical illness, like she said, just didn't happen to people. _Oh, shit, _she realized, her blood running cold. What if it was a supernatural cause? They did deal with souls and insanity on a daily basis…. What if it had screwed her up somehow and she just didn't realize it? _Please, Soul, work with me here…. _

"This isn't good…" Soul muttered. "You don't have any idea what's wrong? Damn. Who could we ask…? Dr. Stein? Lord Death, maybe? I don't know if I wanna go to your Dad, since I'm pretty sure he'd either cry, or find a way to turn blame me…"

"Yeah, I think he'd be useless." She agreed, a small, relieved smile spreading on her face. Of course he trusted her. He was her Weapon.

"I guess Stein is our best bet." Soul decided. "He knows about crap like this, right? Since he's a doctor."

"Right." Maka nodded, stepping aside so they could continue walking. Her pace was brisk, and even though she was, though she hated to admit it, a bit scared because her amnesia, she enjoyed the feel of the autumn air- nice and cool on her cheeks and scraped knees. Fall had always been her favorite season. During Halloween, when she was younger, her Mother would always dress up in silly costumes and walk her all around the neighborhood. When the big clock in downtown Death City struck midnight, the two would race home to watch Halloweentown on Disney channel, and her Mom would always let her sneak a few pieces of her absolute favorite candies. _Save these for Daddy, though, _she'd whisper with a grin on her face, hunting down the Butterfingers in her daughter's bag. Maka would giggle, pretending not to look. Back then, before Spirit started spending time in bars and his marriage with Kami fell apart, he would always be home on Halloween before midnight, no matter what job he was on. He'd watch the movie with them, kissing Maka on the forehead and Kami on the cheek. _I love my girls, _he'd laugh…

"Hey, Maka…" Soul spoke up after a brief pause, interrupting her memory as he grabbed her arm to stop her. She turned, a bit surprised at the distance between them. When had he had stopped walking? Though he continued, Soul still didn't quite meet her eyes. "Do me a favor. Don't… well… forget me, okay? S'not cool. Freaked me out for a sec."

Wait, what? Maka blinked, but recovered quickly. A small smile spread on her face at her usually-indifferent Weapon's embarrassment. How cute. Soul was usually the guy that would brush things off with a sarcastic comment and his signature lopsided grin, but every once in a while, he said something rather deep. Maybe he was just as afraid of the amnesia as she was.

"Okay, Soul." She laughed, tugging on his hand. "I promise."

**XXX**

**Yeaaahh… so this bullshit is something I typed up while thinking of a new chapter _for She's a little Runaway!_ (sorry about that, Fingersofbone!) I haven't slept in a few days and I don't really know what I just wrote, so if it's really bad, don't blame me. Blame my poor, pathetic, sleep-deprived brain. Actually, the plot is based off a nightmare I had a few weeks ago that I named The Dead House. If you replace the Soul Eater cast and crew and replace them with my friends, then it'd be almost the same story. I'm might not continue this, just because this took a long time and I'm not sure if I'm willing to spend that much time on a story no one likes. I'll leave it as unfinished for a while, and if I get a good response, then maybe I'll continue it. I do have some (a lot, really) ideas on where to take the plot… this story is sorta writing itself. It's been surprisingly easy.**

**Another note for Fingersofbone- this is basically my version of romance. As in, this is the full extent of my romantic writing abilities.. I was seriously trying here and nothing _actually _happened. So… please help me :'(**

**Oh, and also…. Sorry for all the swearing, it just sort of happens in my horror stories :)**

**Love,**

**HitTheKillSwitch**


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